Leading Scots call on UK to rethink, stop Brexit

Over 60 prominent figures from Scottish civil society urged the U.K. to reverse course on Brexit in an open letter published in the Herald Tuesday.

“We recognize that a narrow majority voted to leave the European Union, but the disastrous consequences are now becoming ever clearer — every day,” wrote the group, including biologist Anne Glover, former NATO Secretary General George Robertson and veteran British diplomat John Kerr.

“Even before the U.K. has left the EU, we face falling living standards, rising inflation, slowing growth and lower productivity,” the letter continued. “We call for a national debate on Brexit. We ask our fellow citizens, and our politicians, to think again. It is time to call a halt to Brexit.”

Kerr drafted the text that sets out the procedure for leaving the European Union as part of an effort to draw up an EU constitutional treaty in the early 2000s, and told POLITICO in March: “I didn’t think that the United Kingdom would use it.”

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wow

From Warsaw with love

No way! High time to get rid of the Disunited Kingdoom and finally move EU integration forward. Europe will be better off without the UK.

Posted on 7/18/17 | 8:19 AM CEST

enano

@wow

Good bye and good luck.

Posted on 7/18/17 | 8:36 AM CEST

enano

“We recognize that a narrow majority voted to leave the European Union, but the disastrous consequences are now becoming ever clearer — every day,”
Well, that was obvious for wise people before referendum.

Posted on 7/18/17 | 8:40 AM CEST

D

Thank god we are leaving, away from the redistributive eu. No more taxes being given to undeserving people with no interest in the welfare of the UK. The scots have a leftist agenda anyway

Posted on 7/18/17 | 8:48 AM CEST

Stayin

Art is reversible. Stayin stop Block brexit !

Posted on 7/18/17 | 8:50 AM CEST

Stayin

Proud of my leftist agenda

Posted on 7/18/17 | 8:52 AM CEST

dusty

The Scottish seek European domination, let them have it, on the day we leave the EU close the border with Scotland stop the Barnett payments.
To save all this fuss give the Scottish a referendum NEXT WEEK and you will find that they prefer being in the UK.

Posted on 7/18/17 | 9:05 AM CEST

Geronimo

The referendum was the chance to speak out. Do you not understand democracy? Bye bye EU…..

Posted on 7/18/17 | 9:55 AM CEST

Geronimo

Bye bye EU. Here’s 02 words. Democracy and Referendum.

Posted on 7/18/17 | 10:01 AM CEST

tony

It must be remembered that the Scottish economy has in effect been in recession even pre Brexit. It comes of spending money they haven’t got on things they can’t afford.

Free student tuition (except for the English) Free Social care, lots of other free things, which is all very nice…but surely a lesson for any country that we might have grand ambitions but that we can’t live beyond our means without the consequences catching up eventually.

Nicola Sturgeon is obsessed with independence and has taken her eye off the ball

Posted on 7/18/17 | 10:18 AM CEST

EU=FU

These pathetic remoaners will just have to shut up and accept it. The UK had it’s say, the majority is always the winner that is how elections work here.
It is fun to read of them crying everyday…yet none are packing up to migrate to Romania etc..why not? they can all move to an EU country and suffer the full farce of EU life, but are they leaving?

Posted on 7/18/17 | 10:54 AM CEST

Vishnou

To Brexiteers: Your self-confidence and disdain for 48% of your fellow citizens who voted Remain is disgustingly appalling. Do you realise how much it destabilises your own environment? Such a result cannot, by all means, be called a victory.

Posted on 7/18/17 | 12:06 PM CEST

Roy Jacobs

hahhaaha, call a referendum on Scottish Independence and the you can join your precious EU.
be prepared to cut your overspending from 8% of GDP to 3% though, and forget about the Barnett formula.

Posted on 7/18/17 | 12:07 PM CEST

Vishnou

@EU-FU: Farage, Johnson and the other clowns simply provided you with an opportunity to officialise basic racism and xenophobia. Congratulations! What an achievement!!! The EU doesn’t want the 52% back: only the remaining 48%. The latter deserve a better future than to live alongside extremists and narrow-minded individuals. 🙂

Posted on 7/18/17 | 12:16 PM CEST

Ted

The Scottish economy was heading for the toilet before the referendum, and they really should have waited to publish this letter until after the inflation figures were released because it turns out inflation has gone down, not up.

Posted on 7/18/17 | 12:52 PM CEST

Ted

@ Vishnou And where would the 48% find employment in the EU, given the parlous state of the EU27’s employment figures?

Posted on 7/18/17 | 12:55 PM CEST

Paul W

Nothing new to see here – just the same sorts who thought British membership of the Euro was a wizard idea. Wrong then. Wrong now.

Posted on 7/18/17 | 1:43 PM CEST

FierEuropeen

I’m sorry but I have to tell you. The Scots telling the English to do something, its the same as a poodle telling is owner to sit. The UK its England the fat owner and the others are the poodles that sit or roll when the master tells them.

Posted on 7/18/17 | 1:45 PM CEST

sgu66

@Vishnou

I wonder how you would enjoy the UK remaining in the EU, as the only guaranteed outcome of that would be UK politicians of all parties forced to follow a vigorous reform agenda across the EU, otherwise there would be immense political (and societal) consequences that would bring MPs down. Imagine what happens when born-again EUers campaign for reform and the EU refuses to do so; how would that play into the populist hands across the EU? If BREXIT got nowhere and reform was ignored the options open to disgruntled individuals narrows to none-democratic outcomes that could get very painful to the city that the riots occur in. And that is assuming there are no further crises across Europe (Turkey, Russia, Trump, Italian banks, Macron failure, Hungary or Poland anyone?).

Posted on 7/18/17 | 1:53 PM CEST

wow

@Fiereuropean Wales voted to leave as well. Without the Welsh voting to leave, UK would not be leaving.

Stop causing trouble between people (as usual) you little devil.

Posted on 7/18/17 | 2:25 PM CEST

Vishnou

Again, comments from brexiteers that make no sense. Protectionsim at its best, one more. Only 52% though…… 😉 I won’t answer to stupid allégations. Sorry Folks. Happy brexiteers? Fine. Pay the bill and enjoy the conséquences. Full stop.

Posted on 7/18/17 | 2:44 PM CEST

YellowSubmarine

Pity they were not on the case a few years ago and lobbying EU to make changes, the changes remainers said could be done by working together in EU rather than leave it. Either change was impossible or the ’60’, and others, where actually happy with everything and the change talk was just that, talk.

There will be changes now though and much bigger than the lonely Cameron attempt could have negotiated with a dismissive Brussels.

Posted on 7/18/17 | 3:47 PM CEST

Europeann

From Germany with love!
The little English are a cliff hedge. Like lemmings, they look down at the abyss and think they will fly on their way down, somewhat miraculously. In Dante´s analogy, they are in Purgatory right now. At the gate, they think they´ll be sent to Heaven. But their envisioned bliss does not augur well for selfish people. They must, in Purgatory, get rid of their arrogance, their selfishness, their stupidity, their lack of feeling for their countrymen.
Dante wrote that such people must carry stones up a hill, in order to earn a possible entry into Heaven. The little English must carry them the size of Obelix´s Menhirs.

Die spinnen, die Briten!

Posted on 7/18/17 | 6:03 PM CEST

Tom

You shall have to make decision about Scottish Independence and shall have to go together with EU without London

Posted on 7/18/17 | 6:08 PM CEST

Europeann

I will continue buying Scottish salmon. But I can´t think of a single English product I´d buy. The tinker-tank, obsolete Land Rovers? Short cake in souvenir shops, so stale that it should be considered unfit for consumption?

Leave! But take all of your own retirees with you. The NHS will be only too happy to care for them. English nurses and doctors are there, or not? In zero-hour contracts? Tough luck, seems to be the motto of the English government, while this elite couldn´t care less for their people. They have the connections! And they play at politics as if they cared.
They farcically blame the EU to disguise their own ineptitude to govern a country which has gone awry.

Lonely cod

@Europeann
And you are probably sipping a g&t or scotch watching reruns of Benny Hill or Mr bean,whilst desperately wandering how next to cut your nose off to spite your face.

Posted on 7/18/17 | 9:00 PM CEST

MLB

@Tony
Nothing is free, It is paid through the tax the state collects.
But you are clearly not understanding anything how a society functions.
The Brexiters here on this site is unbelievable I truly hope you are the one that will suffer from the consequences.

It is quite insane how a few people can change how A whole country is perceived.
I can not find any positive or even slightly positive about the brexiters Comments in here. You are arrogant, Non Reasonable, Unscientific, You are unrealistic about everything.
When the reality is going to kick in here in 17 months. And you will be so angry because what you envision for the Future is so far from reality. That you can´t handle it.

Posted on 7/19/17 | 12:23 AM CEST

wow

@European well thanks for understanding FINALLY, we have a service economy here 80% of UK is services and services are not included in the EU single market. That means we have only 20% to be negotiated with the EU. Of course only 40% of that 20% is EU trade, so you can see we will not collapse if no trade deal is made.

The EU just lost a customer. London is the largest financial centre in the WORLD, not just the EU. The New York Times calls it ‘the worlds bank’ yes USA’s bank, EU’s bank, China’s bank, the WORLD’s bank. UK takes all the wealth from the world, sucks it into London, takes a cut of the money OF THE WHOLE WORLD, via various ‘services’ and then uses that money to buy EU luxury goods such as champagne and luxury cars.

This is why UK has a trade deficit, because we are customers to the EU. We take from the world, and spend it in the EU. You have NO IDEA what you have lost, losing the UK. No idea whatsoever. Everybody loves a rich customer!!! And the UK is rich, for it’s size, it is very very rich. MEP’s used to call it ‘treasure island’ (google it).

Cheerio now.

Posted on 7/19/17 | 9:34 AM CEST

FierEuropeen

@MLB
And you can bet that when everything goes wrong and they will return to the 70s pre-EU adhesion life standards, they will start to shout that the fault of their misfortunes was all of the EU and the Europeans. Pathetic and hilarious 🙂